For brides and grooms, the long-anticipated wedding day can feel like a blur, so couples often want beautiful photos to remember their special day. While hiring a talented photographer is key, it’s also important to make time for photos — and to be willing to have fun.

That’s what led to a breathtaking photo in the long tunnel near the Buffalo Bill Reservoir, said photographer Tara Bolgiano, owner of Blushing Crow Studio.

“I wish I could say there was more planning in it but like most of my favorite images, everything came together beautifully in a matter of minutes,” Bolgiano said. “What makes an image like this happen is having actual flexible time on a wedding day.”

At many weddings, it’s common to only end up with 10 minutes or 30 minutes max to create images of the couple, she said.

“... You don’t have much flexibility to travel around or to get new backdrops, so you make the best of what you have,” she said.

The couple featured in the tunnel image — Betsey and Matt Neddermeyer — had blocked off almost 90 minutes for photos on their wedding day, Bolgiano said.

“The guests enjoyed a cocktail hour and some dancing while we caught the sunset,” Bolgiano  said of the fall 2016 wedding. “... Truly this is one of those images that comes about because you have an awesome bride and groom who make time for their photos and have a blast doing them!”

The photographer recalled that it was one of those weddings where things didn’t go quite as originally planned — including having the outdoor venue rained out.

“But they didn’t flinch,” Bolgiano said of the Neddermeyers. “They put everything in the hands of their wedding planner and ended up doing a last-minute inside candlelight ceremony at The Terrace, which was absolutely breathtaking and just miles from the reservoir.”

After the ceremony, the couple hoped to go up Cedar Mountain for pictures that would feature Cody as a backdrop. Bolgiano said they were having so much fun that they decided to keep shooting, and headed toward the reservoir.

A Northwest College photo alum, Bolgiano had seen many pictures done in the tunnel, and “I couldn’t help but give it a try myself,” she said.

The couple immediately agreed, posing in the middle of the road, with the evening light coming through the tunnel.

“Thankfully it’s Wyoming and there’s never enough traffic to stop, but the few that did come by honked and congratulated the beautiful couple in great [spirits],” Bolgiano said. “Good ol’ Wyoming spirit!”

The image was featured on the cover of Wyoming Weddings in 2018. Out of the many wedding photos Bolgiano has captured over the years, she said the tunnel photo is “hands down” one of her favorites.

“Not at all because of the individual image but because of the day!” she said. “If I remember correctly, I was eight months pregnant and probably miserable but I don’t remember any of that because it was such an intimate, heartfelt, joyful, superb celebration of love, family and their future.”

She says she couldn’t even fall asleep that night “because I was just buzzing from the entire day.” When a couple is excited and adventurous — and especially when the groom is having fun — Bolgiano said that joy is “absolutely contagious.”

“Brides always want great photos and are usually willing to do anything, but at the end of a long wedding day, many grooms are done with pictures and ready to party,” she said. “You can’t force joy and happiness. A good photographer will make sure to bring out the best in their clients, but when it’s genuine, it shines.”

While you can’t plan for everything, Bolgiano said it’s important to schedule your wedding day in a way that gives you great flexibility and especially allows for taking family pictures and couple portraits, so you don’t feel rushed. That helps ensure you get images that are “truly special and unique to your relationship and your story,” she said.

“The biggest mistake I see brides and grooms make is ... trying too hard to please everyone else and not just creating their own day, their own way,” Bolgiano said. “The best and most memorable weddings I’ve been a part of have always been weddings where the bride and groom broke old traditions, started new traditions, honored their values and shared their passions. Truly it’s worth it!”